WHITE TANK MOUNTAIN REGIONAL PARK

Yesterday, we went hiking in the White Tank Mountain Regional Park which is about 9 miles south and west of Surprise.  “The free-standing, deeply serrated, 4000 foot high White Tank Mountains separate the Phoenix Basin of the Salt River Valley from the Hassayampa Plain.  Floodwaters have scoured out a series of depressions or ‘tanks’ in the white granite rock, thus the name of the mountains.”

The entry fee to the park is $6 per vehicle and there are approximately 15 trails of varying lengths and difficulty throughout the park.  We started with a short trail a few miles in from the entrance to get a feel for the area and then went on a longer trail after lunch.

The vegetation is very typical for this area with the fascinating saguaro cacti, cholla cacti, creosote bushes, barrel cacti and a few ocotillo on some of the slopes.  

We hiked up to a waterfall that is impressive after some rains but it has been dry here for a couple of weeks now.  There still was a slight trickle of water coming down the rocks into a small pool at the bottom.

During the rainy season (monsoon season) in July and August, the floodwaters flow down various “washes” in the desert.  This is one of the washes that we saw along the trail.

It was wonderful to be out in the sunshine for the day and away from urban areas and people.  We did see a few folks along the trails but were all by ourselves most of the time.  It was well worth the visit and there are more trails to be hiked another time.

By the way, one hummingbird egg hatched 3 days ago and we’re waiting for the other one to hatch soon.  We don’t have photos to share yet as the little one is just a tiny dark blob in the bottom of the nest and doesn't move much.